Sympathy for the Devil
by Lilly V
Summary: COMPLETED What if everything you'd ever thought about this world and our exsitance was proven wrong? And what if it was all about to end? Features Raven, Tori former Diva, not Wilson, Kane, and many others
1. Pleased to meet you...

"Just as every cop is a criminal/And all the sinners saints/As heads is tails/Just call me Lucifer/'Cause I'm in need of some restraint."  
  
Damn, he's going off again. I don't need some speech before he does whatever he's planning on doing. Hell, not like he hasn't done enough already. Steven's sitting there, he's sweating like balls in fear of what's about to happen. Hardcore and Crash Holly keep looking at Molly to make sure she's okay. I'm sitting on the floor, still crushed from what happened to me earlier this evening.  
  
We're the lucky ones who got caught in the wake.  
  
Ivory's in a mental home, barely speaking except to say "Nevermore," with glassed over eyes. Spike Dudley may not wake up from the coma they put him. Jeff's still reeling physically and mentally from his brother's betraying him. And poor Molly  
  
"So if you meet me/Have some courtesy/Have some sympathy, and some taste/Use all your well-learned politesse/Or I'll lay your soul to waste." He finishes reciting as he grabs my chin in his hand. "Sympathy for the Devil, originally by the Rolling Stones. Covered by Guns N' Roses for the movie Interview with the Vampire, a bastardization of Anne Rice's novel, starring those pretty boys Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt."  
  
Raven's staring into my eyes now. "But see, I'm a little different. I don't want your sympathy. I don't want you to feel sorry for me. All I want is revenge. And I want all of you to witness it.  
  
"Last chance Tori," he says once he's released my face and turned his back to me. His voice echoes in the empty room. "I'm offering you one final time, redemption for all you've done."  
  
I tried to stop all this. All of it. But now it's just too late isn't it?  
  
"What do you say, Tori?"  
  
Time to find words, Tor, time to find words.  
  
"I say fuck you Raven. I don't want your redemption."  
  
"At least your speech was shorter than that other bitch. Ivory just wouldn't shut up, would she? It's not an issue now, is it?"  
  
Steven growls and tries to stand up.  
  
"Upset with me, Steven? You should be happy, I set you free. It was your own fault, anyway. I told you not let her in to RTC, I told you I wanted to plow through you when I got to the WWF. Instead, where was I? Beating on an old man past his prime. Jerry the King Lawler, a fool for a pretty face and a set of massive breasts.  
  
"Then, they decide to make me Hardcore Champion. WWF hardcore, what an oxymoron. That's when I met her, found about her past. Like me she was miserable growing up, scorned for being different. I was picked last for sports, she was the one nobody would date, nobody would even look at, so long as her big sister was around.  
  
"I dug up some of her old tapes and watched what she'd been put through. The first ever women's hardcore match. Oh, she lost, but the pain her opponent put her through was worth it. She had a mirror broken over her head, an iron seared into her back. Woman after my own heart.  
  
"Then, she gets on the bad side of a big red Retard, who Tombstones her, nearly breaks her neck. She gets back up. She gets put through a table, rips her shoulder, and gets back up. And all through it, she thinks nothing of breaking an alliance, leaving someone who loved her."  
  
I can't stand to hear this. Because everything he's saying to true.  
  
"Then I get her to help me, get her to agree to help me out, drive my escape car. And she leaves me. Goes off, becomes a TV star. Forgets me. Then, when she doesn't get her way when she comes back, she storms off, gets fired. But does she leave me alone? No, she decides she has to stop me from doing what needs to be done. And she thought she could succeed. So now, I give her one last chance to be forgiven, to join my Flock, and does she Matthew?"  
  
Matt Hardy shakes his head.  
  
"No, she doesn't, does she Kanyon?"  
  
Kanyon joins Matt in shaking his head.  
  
"And now," Raven continues, "it's too late."  
  
He walks to where Molly is tied to a chair, shaking in what was once anger and now is fear. "And you, Molly. Dear, dear Molly. It's sad it had to come to this. I wanted to take care of this earlier, however some people," he shot me a look, "had to go and decide they didn't want to help me save others. Some people…"  
  
"Don't see things your way," I shot back. "And some people don't know what you are."  
  
"Tori, Tori, Tori," he sighs at me. "Can I get you a drink?"  
  
One Month Previously  
  
"How the hell did you get in here?"  
  
Jeff Hardy was obviously upset with the blonde woman in his bed. He had walked into his hotel room to find her sitting there, waiting for him.  
  
"I used the door."  
  
"It was locked."  
  
"Locks are tricky things. The old ones can be picked…the news one just need played with a bit. It's all relative."  
  
"Tori, you can't be here. You were fired, remember?"  
  
"Uh huh. This has nothing to do with my job Jeff."  
  
"What does it have to do with?"  
  
"Matt."  
  
"Matt? What are you planning?"  
  
"You automatically expect me to be after him?"  
  
"Well, you do have a rather shady track record."  
  
"Ouch. That one hurt."  
  
"It was supposed to," Jeff pointed to the door. "Leave."  
  
"He's coming for Matt."  
  
"Who?"  
  
Tori looked around the room, as if checking to make sure there was no way she would be heard. "He is…he'll turn him against you. Hurt you."  
  
"Tori, get out."  
  
"Listen me. He's been planning it for a long time."  
  
"Tori, now. Before I call security."  
  
"Fine," She turned away from him. "I'm sorry I bothered you."  
  
Jeff watched her leave.  
  
She was just about to climb into her car in the parking garage when she heard his voice.  
  
"And I thought you could be trusted."  
  
Turning as quickly as she could, Tori brought her arm into a position to block whatever he could throw at her.  
  
His eyes were cutting through her, penetrating her like they always had. He had a wry smile on his face that was just how she remembered him as well. "And now look at you. Without a job. Gone from the heights you fought so hard to reach. Tossed aside, but you're used to that, aren't you?"  
  
"You're not doing this to me," Tori hissed.  
  
"Doing what?"  
  
"Trying to make sense. No. You did this to me once before, and I fell for it."  
  
He closed in on her though her body was still tense enough to fight back if he tried anything. "Tori, are you still having problems? You still see things?"  
  
"I see you about to get your ass kicked," She retorted.  
  
"I'm the only one who could stop them, the only one who could make you whole again. I could have saved you from yourself…"  
  
She rotated her arm, trapping his. "Don't worry about me. I'll live."  
  
She climbed into her car and drove away, leaving him in the dust. He just shook his head. "You'll regret it…"  
  
One week later  
  
Ivory wrapped a towel around her body before exiting the bathroom in her hotel room. She sighed as she felt carpet under her bare feet, it had been a long night and now she just wanted some sleep.  
  
That's when she heard the voice.  
  
"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste. I've been around for a long long years, stolen many man's soul and faith."  
  
Ivory gasped when she realized who was in her room. "Raven," she rolled her eyes at the man sitting on her bed. "What the hell are you doing here?"  
  
"I'm here to talk to you, Miss Ivory. About a…mutual friend."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Steven Richards."  
  
"Steven? What about him, we barely talk anymore."  
  
"Yes, but you were talking at one point, Miss Ivory. And he still remembers those talks." Raven stood up and approached her. "He remembers them so well that he won't even listen to what I'm trying to say to him."  
  
"Which in my book is a good thing, you raving psychopath. Now get the hell out of my room!"  
  
"Ivory, you're not understanding what I'm saying to you," Raven placed his hand around her neck. "I'm telling you that I'm very, very angry with you."  
  
"I don't care," Ivory yelled. "Look, you are just a crazy son of a bitch who happens to have a depression problem to boot. Now, get out of my room, get out of my life, stay the hell away from Steven. I don't care what you have planned and what you're going to do in the future, so long as it doesn't affect me or…"  
  
Ivory was cut off when the back of Raven's hand met her face. He shook his head at her, slowly. "You just don't know when to shut up, do you?"  
  
Raven picked Ivory up and threw her onto the bed, before motioning to another figure in the room that Ivory had completely missed.  
  
"Kanyon?" Ivory asked.  
  
He simply looked at Raven.  
  
"Hold her down," Raven ordered. "I'm going to show Miss Ivory here exactly how crazy I am."  
  
Tori found Ivory's room several hours later. She was about to try and pick the lock, however when she pressed on the door it swung open easily.  
  
Entering carefully, she looked around, just in case Raven had decided to hide out in here and wait. He had to have known that she'd be here, that she'd know his next target. Hell, he probably reveled in it.  
  
What she found was a broken figure huddled in a corner wearing what looked like ripped sheets barely pulled around her body. Ivory, her hair wildly disheveled and her body covered in bruises, was sitting with her knees to her chest, rocking slowly back and forth. Her eyes were glassed over, not looking as if they were really seeing anything.  
  
Tori bent over Ivory slowly, then reached out and touched her shoulder. "Ivory?" she asked.  
  
"Nevermore," Ivory whispered in a choked voice. 


	2. hope you guess my name...

"Do we know what caused this yet?" Vince McMahon demanded the next day at the asylum.  
  
"Not yet. All we know is that she's not reacting any way other than to say 'Nevermore'."  
  
"That's it?"  
  
"Yes. All she'll say is 'Nevermore'."  
  
"How could this have happened?"  
  
"Well, from the looks of things, she was tortured for awhile before she was left alone, and who knows how long she was alone before someone found her. Who did find her?"  
  
"A former fellow employee who notified us that she was in danger."  
  
"Do you think I could speak to this fellow employee?"  
  
"I'm not sure if she'd…"  
  
"I'm right here sir," Tori entered the office softly.  
  
"Ah, yes, are you the woman who found Miss Ivory?"  
  
"That would be me," she sank into one of the leather chairs.  
  
"Your name?"  
  
"Tori."  
  
"Only one name?"  
  
"Her name," Vince interjected, "is Victoria Powers. I fired her quite awhile ago and lately she's been hanging around being a nuisance." Off of Tori's questioning look he simply said "Jeff Hardy said you broke into his hotel room and I was told by Raven that you'd been lurking about. What are you doing?"  
  
"What I'm doing here is none of your concern Vince."  
  
"Dammit, I fired you!"  
  
"Yes, you fired me. But I've got a job to do, and if you'll let me see Ivory again I can get back to work."  
  
The doctor stopped her. "I'm sorry, I can't let you see Ivory. She's being confined."  
  
"Please. Give me five minutes with her. If you do I might be able to tell you who did this to her."  
  
"You think you can get her to talk?" The doctor asked. "I'm sorry, but I've had specialists look at her already and they've told me there's no way she'll…"  
  
"I don't need her to talk. I just need to be able to touch her for a few minutes."  
  
Both the doctor and Vince looked at her like she was crazy.  
  
"I'm not insane, I don't belong here. I just need to see my friend…"  
  
"I can't let you in there. I'm sorry," the doctor shook his head.  
  
"Please…"  
  
"I'm sorry, I can't."  
  
Tori suddenly stood up and pounded the desk. "This is more important than just that woman's sanity! I need to see her!"  
  
Minutes later, Tori found herself being escorted out of the building by security.  
  
It was an hour later when Tori finally managed to sneak herself into Ivory's hotel room. The entire place was taped off, but that didn't even bother the former diva in the least. She had to risk being arrested; there was no question about it.  
  
Ducking under the tape and entering the room, she headed straight for the bed. She looked around once, making sure nobody was around, and then sighed heavily. "No choice, no turning back," she muttered.  
  
Placing her hands on the bed and concentrating, Tori's mind was flooded with sensations…  
  
His hands…oh god all over her…he wasn't going to…no, why? It didn't make any…oh dammit…yes…no…son of a BITCH!!!!  
  
When it was all over, Ivory was gasping for breath. Raven's voice caught her ears, and through Ivory's eyes she saw him bent over her.  
  
"And now, you go crazy. Do you know why? Not because I raped you, not because I just violated your being. But because you liked every second of it. And you'd let me do it all over again…wouldn't you?"  
  
She felt Ivory nodded, against her will.  
  
"Well then…let's…."  
  
Once more…no…Ivory why?  
  
Tori let go of the bed and fell backwards, gasping for breath herself. "Ivory…" she whispered. "Why…you knew…why?"  
  
"Because she wanted to dance near the darkness and she got caught in it."  
  
If Tori had been able to sit up she would have. Instead she snarled. "What the fuck are you doing here? Aren't you done?"  
  
"With Ivory, of course. But I knew you'd be here Nancy Drewing. So I figured I'd show up and give you a clue…"  
  
Raven bent over her, his hand closing in to her face. Tori was too weak from the vision to fight back…his skin touched hers…  
  
Intense pain all over her body.  
  
Raven let go. "You son of a bitch!" Tori growled before she passed out.  
  
"Now you know," Raven smirked. "And there's not a damned thing you can do about it."  
  
WWF Smackdown  
  
"Matt, I'm just saying, you've been acting kind of weird the past few days. And I wanna know what's up."  
  
The darker brother turned to face his lighter counterpart. "Nothing. I've just been a little out of it, kind of depressed. But I'm fine now. Trust me. I've got my head on straight."  
  
"Good to know, big bro," Jeff patted Matt on the shoulder. "Now, let's go get us some."  
  
On their way to the ring, the boys stopped for about thirty seconds outside the woman's locker room to pick up Lita. She met with them, shaking her head.  
  
"Guys, something's wrong. Have you heard about Ivory yet?"  
  
Both brothers shook their heads.  
  
"Apparently she was found in her hotel room. From what they said she had some kind of breakdown and had to be institutionalized."  
  
Matt and Jeff looked shocked.  
  
"Nobody knows what caused the breakdown either. And get this, Tori was the one who found her."  
  
"Tori?" Jeff asked.  
  
"Yeah. Then she showed up at the mental hospital and tried to convince them she had to see Ivory. They had to have her forcibly removed."  
  
"It was Tori, you're sure?" Jeff asked more urgently this time.  
  
"That's what they're saying in the women's locker room."  
  
"You okay Jeff?" Matt asked.  
  
"I'm fine," Jeff swallowed. "Look, Matt, are you sure you wanna do this tonight? I mean, this match…"  
  
"Come on Jeff, I've fought tougher matches than this before. It's one match against Test."  
  
"I don't like the feel of it Matt."  
  
Out in the ring, Jeff's fear kept rising as he watched his brother in action against Test. It shouldn't have bothered him, except for what Tori had said.  
  
"He's coming for Matt."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"He is…he'll turn him against you. Hurt you… Listen to me. He's been planning it for a long time."  
  
Who in the world was "he" anyway?  
  
Jeff watched Lita as she yelled words of encouragement at her boyfriend. Matt would never do anything to hurt her again, would he? After their rough break up before…  
  
Jeff's last thoughts were shut out by the chair that hit him in the back of the head.  
  
Lita was busy yelling at Matt to be careful when Raven hit the ring.  
  
Test and Matt stopped fighting to turn and look at the intruder. There was a long pause, Test and Matt staring down Raven.  
  
Out of nowhere Kanyon appeared and threw Lita into the ring by her hair. Test grabbed Matt as Kanyon handed Lita to Raven.  
  
Raven motioned for a mike, still holding Lita by her mane of red hair. When he had his mike, he began to speak.  
  
"Matthew Moore Hardy, I am here tonight to allow you to make a choice. You say you're a God fearing man? Well, tonight you're dealing with the devil. You see, there's only one difference between a good man and a bad man…and that's free will. You have free will, Matthew, and this is your chance to exercise it. I have here your girlfriend, the lovely Lita. Outside the ring, knocked out cold, is your brother, Jeff. Your choice, Matthew, is who deserves to feel the evenflow."  
  
Matt struggled against Test's grip.  
  
"Simple choice Matthew, it's in your hands. Do you play the chivalrous one and save the girl, or is blood thicker than water?"  
  
Lita struggled against Raven again. "Keep doing that," he growled at her, "and I'll even flow you and your two pretty boys."  
  
Lita stopped.  
  
"Now Matthew, there is another choice here. As you can see, I'm rebuilding my flock. Matthew, you have always been the darker brother, the neglected one. Do you remember how your brother was being called the next Shawn Michaels? What were they calling you? I'll bet it was the same when you were children in Cameron. He was the baby; he got the attention. How many girls went after him in contrast to the ones that went after you? When you go back do you get the same recognition he does? He's being praised as a wrestler as well as a poet, a musician and a daredevil. What are you being praised as?  
  
"What I'm offering you is a chance for revenge. A chance to redeem yourself. I'm offering you a place in my flock."  
  
Matt looked at Test, then at Lita, then at Kanyon, then finally looked back at Raven. Raven approached him, holding out the mike. "Your choice?"  
  
Matt growled. "Evenflow me."  
  
Raven smirked. "If you insist." He threw Lita to Kanyon while at the same time Test was throwing Matt towards him. Raven kicked Matt in the gut and preceded to Evenflow the older Hardy into the ground. He then picked Matt up and did it again, then a third time. Finally, Kanyon threw his leader Lita.  
  
Raven Evenflowed her as well.  
  
When the red head's body had hit the mat, Raven nodded to his Flock. "Bring her."  
  
They carried Lita off, leaving Matt and Jeff broken in the ring. 


	3. but what's puzzling you is...

WWF RAW  
  
When the Flock's music began to sound, Tori found herself finally awakening. She was tied down to a chair, a television tuned into RAW flickering in front of her. She was going to struggle, but then saw the boys carrying Lita down to the ring.  
  
The red haired girl looked like she'd been nearly broken, though she wasn't even half as bad as Ivory had been. In fact, compared to her fellow diva, Lita looked the picture of mental health.  
  
Test dropped her in the center of the ring while Raven reached for the mike. "Matthew Hardy, I'm done with your whore. You can come claim her now."  
  
Matt and Jeff's music hit and the two ran down to the ring. Kanyon and Test stood behind Raven protectively. As the brothers entered the ring, Raven backed away from the captive girl, who was curled into a ball in the center of the ring. Jeff bent over her as Matt stared Raven down.  
  
"You okay, Red?" Jeff asked, quietly?  
  
Lita nodded, her eyes tear stained.  
  
"Come on, let's get out of here," Jeff helped Lita up; the diva was barely able to stand on her own.  
  
Matt was still staring at Raven intently, looking ready to attack.  
  
"Matt, let's go," Jeff insisted.  
  
"I've got something to take care of first," Matt growled.  
  
"Matt, let it go. Lita needs to be looked at."  
  
Matt never broke his stare. "I need to take care of this, Jeffery." Then, to Raven, "You asked me a question on Smackdown, and I gave you my answer. Did you think kidnapping her was going to change my mind?"  
  
Jeff led Lita to the corner. "Are you going to be okay if I leave you here?" he asked.  
  
He got a nod as an answer.  
  
"Alright," Jeff turned to his brother. "Matt," he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.  
  
Matt grabbed Jeff's arm and gave him the twist of fate.  
  
Lita fell into the corner, shaking her head.  
  
Matt accepted the mike from Raven. "I gave my answer. When I asked to feel the pain of the Evenflow, I accepted the invitation to join the Flock. And there's nothing you," he kicked his brother, "or you," he walked to Lita and crouched until he was looking her in the eyes "can do about it."  
  
Matt spit in Lita's face.  
  
The Flock departed from the ring.  
  
Tori thrashed about against the bonds keeping her in the chair. She didn't want to be there when the Flock returned; she didn't want Raven or Matt to touch her.  
  
That hurt more than any tombstone she'd ever felt.  
  
Funny she was thinking that when the door burst open and Kane charged into the room.  
  
Pulling the tape off of her, he suddenly asked "How long have you known?"  
  
"Long enough," Tori responded. "I warned Jeff, but he didn't care."  
  
"Didn't understand you mean. I'm sure he cared."  
  
"Caring's a funny thing. You can say you do or don't care about something, but in the end, you're lying."  
  
"I can't believe you want to discuss this now."  
  
"I can't believe you stranded me."  
  
"Tori, please, let's not do this…"  
  
"Kane, I know you hate what this body did to you, but please. You know it wasn't me. And losing you…losing you was the hardest part of it."  
  
"I know, Tori. But every time I look at you all I can think of is what she tried to do…what she nearly did. And knowing that everything she took from me is still buried somewhere in you…that's hard to accept."  
  
"Fine," the blonde woman, finally free, stalked towards the door silently, using the skills from her Ninja Girl days.  
  
Once out of the room safely, Tori looked at her ex-lover. "Listen to me, I can't protect his other victims, but you can do something for me."  
  
"What?" Kane asked.  
  
"Molly. Watch out for her," Tori turned to walk away, then paused. "Do you know where Spike Dudley would be?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I want him to watch Molly too."  
  
"She's with Hurricane."  
  
"That's what frightens me."  
  
"How'd you know?"  
  
Lita was looking at Tori through tear-stained eyes. "Jeff said you'd know, how'd you know?"  
  
Jeff was sitting in the booth at the Eat N Park, shaking his head. "Why'd he do it?"  
  
"Because Raven is a dangerous creature," Tori responded.  
  
Spike was looking shocked as well. "I had no idea…he didn't seem like he would…"  
  
"I knew what was going on," Lita sobbed. "I just…I couldn't move to stop him. I couldn't warn Jeff. Something…something's wrong with me…"  
  
"Raven tried something on you that he shouldn't have," Tori responded. "Something so evil, so vile…I'm surprised you didn't end up like Ivory."  
  
"He said he didn't even try on her, but I was different. I was more special…he mentioned trying to open me up…"  
  
Tori nodded sadly. "So he did try. That son of a bitch."  
  
"What exactly did he try to do and how long would it take me to kill him?" Jeff asked, straight faced.  
  
Tori was shocked by the lack of anger in Jeff's voice. "Before you can understand that, you have to understand the nature of the universe. You have to be able to accept that there is no one God, there is no one being called Satan. Our world, the world we can touch, taste, smell, see, this is only one world. One of nine to be exact. The fifth. Right in the middle.  
  
"Above us are four worlds, below us are four worlds. Above us are the creatures of intense good. Each level houses more powerful creatures than the last. Below us are the creatures of evil. Like the other four, each level gets more and more powerful, but also more and more cruel. But ours is unique. Our world is the only plane like it, the only one with this physical make-up. And the only one where there are creatures with free will."  
  
Tori took a sip of her coffee. "There is only one difference between a good man and bad man, that's free will. The choice to be good or bad. Creatures from the other eight worlds use earth to test how good they truly are. They come here, become human, and see how they respond to being tempted when they can freely choose their reaction to it.  
  
"But of course, they have to be human to do so. So, at any time on this planet, there are between two or three hundred people who are conduits. When one of the creatures needs to be human, they enter the body of a conduit. In the conduit, they experience humanity in all it's blessings and curses.  
  
"However, some of them like humanity too much to leave. The only way to force some of them out is causing the body they're in intense pain. They don't know pain where they're from. They can't take it.  
  
"And now you know."  
  
Spike looked perplexed. "And just what does this have to do with what's going on?"  
  
"Raven is a conduit. Whatever is inside him now is intensely evil and is looking to bring something just as evil, if not more so, into our world. He tried to open Lita up and make her a conduit as well to channel the thing into her. He failed because she resisted, there's something in her that rejected it."  
  
It was Lita's turn to look confused. "What could that be?"  
  
"You have a lot of power, Raven saw that and tried to take advantage of it. Your power comes from a source he can't corrupt."  
  
"But…Tori…why did he take Matt like that?"  
  
"He's building an army…gathering followers for when he brings this thing into being."  
  
"I'm sorry Tori, this is just…this can't be true," Jeff looked at her. "I can't accept this, it goes against everything I've ever been taught. How do you know all this anyway?"  
  
Tori looked around, closed her eyes, and lowered her head. Finally, she raised her head, looked Jeff and Lita in the eyes and said, flatly,  
  
"I used to be a conduit." 


	4. the nature of my game...

"Used to be a conduit? How does that work?" Spike asked.  
  
"This requires a recall of my history. Not all of it, just what happened right before…right before I left…"  
  
"You mean when you were beating me up for Stephanie?" Lita asked.  
  
"Wasn't me," Tori replied. "I'd been a conduit for years, but hadn't been tapped for quite awhile. Then, I started to date Kane. He was a wonderful guy, treated me like I was really something special. And he knew what I was."  
  
"So why'd you dump you?" Jeff asked.  
  
"I didn't. He lost that match, and I had to spend Christmas with X- Pac. I'm brought in and dropped on his bed, just as he looks like he's about to forget the whole thing and just let me alone, I start to channel something. Something not good.  
  
"It was a being from one of the upper four levels that wasn't as innocent as she thought she was. She took one look at X-Pac and decided she wanted to know what the whole sex thing was all about. She seduced him in my body. She corrupted herself.  
  
"After that, she went back to Kane with a new plan. Learn how to create and control fire like he can."  
  
She was met with confused stares.  
  
"You guys honestly think all of that pyro is planned? Half of it is him making a point."  
  
"How could this thing have learned that from him?" Lita asked.  
  
"Simple, he had to trust her enough. She started acting like she was afraid of everyone and everything, hoping he'd give me the power to defend myself. When that wasn't working, she decided it was time to leave him and hook up with X-Pac full time.  
  
"Kane knew what had happened, knew it wasn't me. That's why he tombstoned me. He was trying to drive her out of me. Only she wasn't responding to it the way she should have. The pain wasn't enough. Kane gave up eventually.  
  
"I was trapped in there, unable to stop her. She hurt so many people; I can't even begin to make amends. But then, the night the Dudleyz broke me in half she left.  
  
"It was while I was getting ready to return to the WWF that I met Raven. He knew immediately what I was. And he was the one who offered me a solution. The beings can't handle pain, so the only way to stop them was to open me up to the pain of others, since everyone has pain in some way or another. By doing this, I could ensure that nothing would want to channel through me again. After all, it was working for him.  
  
"So he did it. One of the conditions was that the two of us were going to be eternally tied; I'd always be able to be in his mind when I needed to and vice versa. And for the second, I agreed to help him."  
  
"The attacks on Molly," Spike realized.  
  
"I had my reasons," Tori defended. "Raven told me she was channeling and we had to help her. At that point I was still getting used to being opened up…and also being tied to him. I just went with what he was telling me.  
  
"I didn't know at the time that he was channeling."  
  
"How could he be?" Lita asked.  
  
"Simple, whatever is in him is so strong it can withstand all the pain Raven is taking in. It can ignore it. And what it takes is a dose of it powerful enough to threaten the life of the conduit…"  
  
"That's what we have to do, isn't it?" Spike asked. "We have to put him in a near death situation."  
  
"Not we, me. And I can't. All I need you to do is guard Molly," Tori tossed at him. "And I need you two to stay away from Matt at all costs. He may try to pull Jeff in, and Lita, the Flock may decide to do to you what they did to Ivory anyway."  
  
"How do you know what they did to her?" Lita asked.  
  
"I told you, I'm opened up. When I touch someone, skin to skin, I feel every sensation of emotional pain in a very physical sense. When Raven touches me, it's not the thing possessing him that hurts me, it's Raven underneath crying out for what he's being forced to do to people he cares about. If Matt were to touch me, with all the negative emotion he's feeling now, I may end up knocked out.  
  
"I went to where they had tortured Ivory and channeled her pain. I felt every sensation she did that night when they…when they raped her."  
  
"Oh my god…" Lita's voice cracked.  
  
"No, that's not what made her crazy, trust me," Tori looked at her watch and sighed. "I've got to go. Remember what I told all of you. And I'll be around, I promise. I've done what I can as far as I know."  
  
She left the three other wrestlers sitting alone, their worlds shattered.  
  
"I figured you'd come back," Kane said to her as she slid into the room.  
  
"You knew I had to. I had to find out."  
  
"You already know the answer Tori," Kane growled.  
  
"Kane, please. She never got that from you. You never gave it to her. I promise you, it's not in here."  
  
Kane looked at her, and then shook his head. "Tori, you don't know what you're getting into with this. You can't fight this battle."  
  
"And who will? You? You can't, and you know it. Besides," Tori grew quiet, "I won't let you."  
  
"You think I'm going to let you? I know the price you have to pay Tori, and it's not one I'm comfortable with."  
  
"I thought you didn't care," the blonde snapped, hands on her hips.  
  
"Of course I care!" Kane yelled at her. "I love you Tori, god dammit!"  
  
Tori was silent. Then, finally, she licked her lips and sighed.  
  
"I have to…"  
  
Before she could say anything else, Kane took of his mask, grabbed her by the shoulders, and kissed her deeply.  
  
Tori felt it all, the fire, the screaming, the pain of being locked away for years, finding out that you'd been betrayed by your own flesh and blood, being called a monster, and believing you were a monster.  
  
Kane stopped and looked into her eyes. "Now, get some sleep," he ordered her. "You'll be ready for it. I promise you, and that's the only gift I can give. That promise."  
  
Tori fell backwards. Kane caught her and carried her to her own hotel room. 


	5. tell me honey....

It was a day later when Lita wandered into Tori's hotel room. "Tori?" she called out as she gently pushed the door open. "Tori? Kane told me I could find you here…"  
  
She saw the tall blonde woman crouched over in a corner, cowering in fear.  
  
"Tori? Are you alright?" She asked as she approached the former wrestler.  
  
Tori made some sort of whining noise in reply.  
  
"What's wrong? Did Raven get in here?" Lita walked slowly into the corner. "Spike's watching Molly. Well, from a distance, as she prances around with Hurricane. But he's watching her, just in case anyone tries anything. Jeff's still really upset, he's in no condition to be helping. But I figured I'd come talk to you. I…Tori something's really wrong with me, and I need your help."  
  
The other girl shook harder.  
  
"Tori? What's wrong? Talk to me here! The other night you tell Spike, Jeff and I that the end of the world as we know it could be upon us, now I come in here and you're in a corner not even answering my questions."  
  
Tori turned and looked over her shoulder at Lita.  
  
Lita finally grit her teeth and placed the palm of her hand up against Tori's cheek.  
  
Tori gasped.  
  
"That, Tori, is what I'm feeling! I know you can feel it, I know you can sense that! The emptiness, the feeling that there's something missing in me. I can't take it anymore, Tori! So you snap out of it right now and tell me what's wrong, tell me what he did to me!"  
  
She let go of Tori's face.  
  
Tori touched her own cheek lightly. "There's…" she choked. "There's a hole. But more than that…there's something…else." She looked at Lita in shock. "So they're gathering…"  
  
"What are gathering? Look, now that you're talking can you try making sense?"  
  
"I can't believe I didn't realize it before, especially with Kane…I'm a moron!" Tori slapped her forehead. "I never even thought that he'd bring them into this!"  
  
"Bring who into what?" Lita asked.  
  
"I have to explain. You see, before there could be a physical world for those creatures to exist in, one had to be created. So, four beings created the world, but in doing so were bound to it."  
  
"Four beings?"  
  
"Yes. The four classic elements; Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. The spirits created the physical world, but now they are forced to live in it, reincarnated over and over again with no knowledge of who they really are. If need be they can call upon their ancient abilities."  
  
"What does this have to do with my hole?"  
  
"Remember how I told you your power comes from a source he couldn't corrupt?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"You are an Elemental, Lita. One of four. Kane is one of the others, care to guess his element?"  
  
"Fire," Lita whispered. "And I am?"  
  
"Water or Air, those were the two who were considered female," Tori explained. "But why would Raven even try on you? He knows you can't upset the balance like that, there's no way to corrupt an Elemental."  
  
"But he didn't corrupt me…he just made the hole."  
  
Tori shook her head. "We have to find the other two Elementals and warn them."  
  
"Tori…" Lita reasoned, "what if Molly's…"  
  
That's when the phone in Tori's room rang.  
  
"Lita, answer that," Tori instructed.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"It's Raven and I don't' feel like talking to him."  
  
Lita picked up the phone as it rang again. "Hello?" she answered, softly.  
  
"Put Tori on the phone," Raven ordered.  
  
"Um…I don't think she wants to talk to you," Lita replied.  
  
There was a shuffling on the other end. When it ended, Lita heard a familiar voice on the other end. "Lita…"  
  
"Matt," Lita felt her knees buckle.  
  
"Raven wanted me to talk to you. Tell you what you need to hear."  
  
"Matt…I'm hanging up…"  
  
"You hang up, Spike Dudley dies."  
  
Lita gasped.  
  
"Raven's got him. We're actually all here together, watching Molly and Hurricane. And Kanyon…well Kanyon's got both hands around Spike's fragile little neck, ready to snap it if you hang up on me. So it'd be in your best interest to just listen to what I have to say."  
  
Lita shook in fear. "I'm listening."  
  
"Tell Tori that Molly's our next target, and we'll be going after her on Smackdown this week. She can feel free to stop us."  
  
"I'll give her the message," Lita's voice wavered as she tried to sound smug.  
  
"See that you do," Matt laughed deep in his throat. "Oh, and Lita?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Tell Tori Spike's in a coma."  
  
There was a groaning noise in the background and what sounded like a body hitting the ground.  
  
"SPIKE!" Lita screamed. She was met with silence as a reply.  
  
Hanging up the phone slowly, she turned to Tori. "They're going after Molly this Thursday. And they…they did something to Spike."  
  
Tori bowed her head. "He's not going to let me out of this, is he? He wants to be sure I'm there when he does whatever he's going to do."  
  
"Tori…can I…"  
  
"You need to stay as far out of this as you can," Tori insisted. "You're in too deep anyway."  
  
"I want to help."  
  
Tori touched her cheek again. "You already have."  
  
Bubba Ray was sitting in the waiting room when Tori finally got to the hospital.  
  
"Where is he?" Tori asked the larger Dudley.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Bubba asked.  
  
"Just tell me where Spike is."  
  
"I don't want you seeing him. None of this st…st….st…started until you showed up."  
  
It was then that Tori realized exactly how upset Bubba was. His stutter had been gone for over a year, and now it appeared again.  
  
"Bubba, please. I can't say I have nothing to do with this, but I can say that it's not my fault."  
  
Bubba suddenly stood, looking Tori dead in the eye. "No…no, you stay the hell away from me, from Spike, from everybody! I see you around again and you're going to wish all I'd done was slam your body through a table."  
  
He backed away, never letting his gaze leave hers. 


	6. can you guess my name?

Smackdown  
  
Hurricane made the roll up on Crash Holly for the three count. As the bell rang, the superhero celebrated, calling Molly into the ring with him. She climbed up, running to her hero as Crash rolled out of the ring, defeated.  
  
Just as Hurricane and Molly were about to leave, the arena went dark. When the lights came back up, they revealed that the Flock had taken over the ring.  
  
Molly clutched Hurricane tighter as Raven approached them. "Molly, Molly, Molly. So we meet again. As you can see, this time I left my friend Tori backstage. But, as I told you, she was never 'my girl.'"  
  
Molly turned her face away.  
  
"Now, Molly, you and your hero here have a choice. Either you can come with me, or I make both of you suffer. And trust me, Molly, I know what suffering is and have no qualms about recreating the same kind of pain for others."  
  
"WAIT!"  
  
Raven smirked as he heard that familiar voice over the speakers. "Well, Tori," he said as he turned to face the girl who was rushing down the ramp. "So glad you joined the party."  
  
"Raven, let Molly go!" Tori ordered as she climbed into the ring.  
  
"Now, Tori, why would I want to do that?"  
  
Tori composed herself. "If you let Tori go, and I mean leave the building, escorted by Hurricane, you do whatever you were going to do to her to me."  
  
Raven looked intrigued. "You mean, I let the lovely Molly leave with this freak, and I get you instead?"  
  
Tori nodded.  
  
Raven smirked. "Alright, I accept. Hurricane, Molly, you may leave."  
  
Molly sighed in relief as she exited the ring, Hurricane hovering over her the whole time. The two walked up the ramp together, Hurricane occasionally shooting looks over his shoulder at Raven.  
  
"A small loss," Raven announced, looking Tori dead in the eyes. "So, you've decided to join my Flock, Tori?"  
  
"No, I've decided to take Molly's punishment in her place. Go ahead. Do it."  
  
Raven reached out and held his hand about an inch away from Tori's face. "I would, you see, but I want you conscious. So, boys, if you don't mind, punish her. But, uh…make sure she stays awake."  
  
Matt's fist met her gut, as she doubled over she felt Test's boot make contact with her face. There was the sensation of two fists being driven into her back, who's she wasn't quite sure. Random kicks and punches were flying, she was being stepped on, spat on, but all with a maniacal care so she was still able to realize whatever it was Raven was planning.  
  
Finally, she was stood up, supported by Test and Kanyon. They turned her so she could see the screen as a new piece of footage appeared.  
  
A parking garage. Hurricane and Molly rushing towards the Hurri- cycle. Suddenly, Hurricane fell slightly behind Molly and grabbed her around the neck in a sleeper hold. Tori saw the slight girl struggle against the hold, but it was useless. In a matter of moments she had slipped into unconsciousness. Hurricane picked her up and turned to face the camera. "She's out. I'll put her in the car," Hurricane smirked at the group in the ring. "Tori, you're a bigger fool than he ever gave you credit for."  
  
Tori's scream echoed though the arena, just as Raven grabbed her for the Evenflow.  
  
Present.  
  
"A drink?" I ask. "You brought us to some abandoned churh for some twisted reason and now you're offering me a drink?"  
  
"I've offered you so much!" Wow, he's losing his composure. I'm really pushing the buttons tonight. "And yet you feel the need to protect the innocent." He gestures at the Hollys and Steven. "And when the innocent try to protect you, they get themselves in deeper, don't they?"  
  
Molly's struggling against her bonds again. I have a feeling she'd be screaming if she weren't gagged.  
  
"Let her go," Crash demands. "Please, just let her go."  
  
"Crash, you had the option of staying out of this. However when you and your cousin here rushed my ring and tried to protect this bitch," he spits the word 'bitch' at me, "I felt the need to punish you."  
  
"At least let Steven go," I offer. "Haven't you done enough to him?"  
  
"Oh, I could let him go I suppose. I'm already done with him. I just thought he'd like to be here to witness the coming together of my master plan. Haven't you figured it out yet, Tori?"  
  
I shake my head in shame. "All I know is you've somehow involved the elementals. But they can't be corrupted and they can't channel!"  
  
"Which I am aware of," Raven laughs. "But didn't you ever think, maybe, there was a reason I choose those creatures responsible for creation? The ones who created the physical world?"  
  
"You need something to come here not in another body, but in it's own." I suddenly realize. "You need to channel it through the elementals. That's why there's the hole in Lita…you're going to bring part of it through each of the four."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"But even now you only have two of them," I defend. "You need all four. All you've got is Air and now, if you open Molly, Water."  
  
"So naïve, Tori, so naïve. Don't you think there's a reason Steven is here…"  
  
Steven is looking at the floor in shame. That's when I realize it.  
  
"Steven's Earth," I look over at him. "And you already…"  
  
"Opened him a year ago. Now all I need is the lovely Miss Molly here, and then your big red retard. Who, I am sure, would trade himself for you."  
  
"That's where you're wrong," I announce. "Kane wouldn't sacrifice himself for me. After what I did to him, I don't blame him."  
  
"As I said, you're naïve." Raven shakes his head. "He's on his way here now, he's tracking you. By the time he gets here I'll have opened Molly, and the world will be at my feet."  
  
"Simple, whatever is in him is so strong it can withstand all the pain Raven is taking in. It can ignore it. And what it takes is a dose of it powerful enough to threaten the life of the conduit…"  
  
"That's what we have to do, isn't it?" Spike asked. "We have to put him in a near death situation."  
  
"Not we, me. And I can't.  
  
Correction, I couldn't.  
  
Now, I can.  
  
"Tell me honey," Raven bends over to meet my face. "Can you guess my name?"  
  
"You'll be ready for it. I promise you, and that's the only gift I can give. That promise."  
  
That wasn't the only gift Kane could give me. He gave me a much greater one than he'd let on.  
  
Raven had turned away from me and turned back to Molly. His hands were over her, moving in a pattern I had only seen once before. When Lita had touched my face to show me her pain I'd seen this. Raven was going to open Molly up and use her. Then Kane would come…  
  
No, it would never come to that.  
  
"RAVEN! You think you're the devil?" I ask Raven. "You really do, don't you?"  
  
The ropes around my wrists and ankles turn to cinder. Everyone gasps; Raven stops in midmovement to turn his attention to me. He approaches me, fear hidden behind a devil may care smile.  
  
I begin to speak. "Devil went down to Georgia, he was looking for a soul to steal. He was in a bind, 'cause he was way behind and he was looking to make a deal." I stand up, nearly as tall as Raven himself.  
  
The Flock gasps as I challenge their leader's look. Raven, frozen, watches me walk past him.  
  
"So he came across this young man sawing on a fiddle and playing it hot, and the devil jumped up on a hickory stump and said, 'Boy, lemme tell you what'."  
  
I'm untying Crash, Hardcore, and Steven as I continue. "'I guess you didn't know it but I'm a fiddle player too. And if you care to take a dare, I'll make a bet with you. Now, you play pretty good fiddle boy, but give the devil his due, I'll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul says I'm better than you.'"  
  
I walk past the guards and head for Molly. Removing her bonds, I look once more at Raven. "The boy said 'My name's Johnny, and it might be a sin, but I'll take your bet, you're gonna regret 'cause I'm the best there's ever been.'"  
  
Molly stands up, looking at me in both fear and awe. "Leave," I tell her. "All of you, but him," I point at Raven. "Leave."  
  
They obey, even Raven's Flock. Raven stares me down. "You bitch…"  
  
"The devil bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat."  
  
Concentrating…  
  
"After that, she went back to Kane with a new plan. Learn how to create and control fire like he can."  
  
"And he laid that golden fiddle on the ground at Johnny's feet."  
  
A circle around both of us. I knew it would come to this. We're too alike to die separately.  
  
"Kane, please. She never got that from you. You never gave it to her. I promise you, it's not in here."  
  
It wasn't…not then.  
  
"And Johnny said 'Devil, just come on back, if you ever want to try again…'"  
  
Fire inside of me. Fire inside of me. My head bent over, hair in my face, arms slowly rising over my head…Fire inside of me.  
  
"''CAUSE I TOLD YOU ONCE YOU SON OF A BITCH, I'M THE BEST THERE'S EVER BEEN!'"  
  
The heat is overbearing as my imaginary circle bursts into flame, trapping both of us in the church. Alone.  
  
Trial by fire…death by fire… 


	7. for the gods they made....

Outside of the building, The Flock, Hardcore, Crash, Steven and Molly had gotten about six feet away before the explosion occurred.  
  
The bang sounded for blocks, reaching the search party hunting for the missing wrestlers.  
  
Kane turned to Lita and Jeff. "Tori did it…"  
  
Lita looked concerned. "Did what?"  
  
"What I was afraid she'd do."  
  
The three took off running towards the source of the sound.  
  
Tori looked over at Raven as the fire circled them. "You die now," she said to the thing inside his body.  
  
"No, Tori. You die now. I just find another body."  
  
Tori laughed deep in her throat. "You forget the rules. The second you leave that body you get sucked back into the pits of Hades that you came from. You stay in the body, you die."  
  
"No," it replied. "I can't die!"  
  
"No matter what you're finished," Tori barked at it, the flames making her a walking shadow. "I win. And now you're mission's failed. You want sympathy now?"  
  
There was a split second of growling from the thing before Raven's body was overtaken by convulsions. Tori watched the thing leave his body and disappear in a flash of black light.  
  
Raven fell to his knees. Tori ran to her friend, holding him as upright as possible. "So…" he coughed. "It ends like this, huh?"  
  
"No," Tori replied, looking around the room. "It doesn't. Not for you. Trust me…"  
  
The flames in front of them parted. The two looked up to see…  
  
"Kane?" Raven asked.  
  
"Took you long enough," Tori smirked, then coughed.  
  
"I'm getting you two out of here," he responded.  
  
"Get him out," Tori ordered him.  
  
"Both of you, or neither of you," Kane insisted.  
  
"Kane, do you see what I've done? I've used power that isn't mine and I've nearly used it to take a life. I have to die. If I don't…the punishment I'll incur…you know the price of what I've done," she coughed again. "Just get him out of here!"  
  
Kane cast a look at the tall blonde woman, then picked Raven up and slung him over one of his massive shoulders. "I can't come back for you."  
  
"I don't expect you to," Tori managed a smile back at him. "You don't love me enough."  
  
Kane looked at her. "Tori…" he reached up and removed his mask. "You love me enough to look upon this," he motioned to his face with his free hand. "And I return that love." Then he replaced his mask and, almost silently, said "Goodbye."  
  
Tori watched him part the flames again and leave her in the fire. She curled into a ball and prepared to die.  
  
The group watched in fear as Kane returned from the flames with an unconscious Raven. Molly ran to help Kane with smaller man. "Is he?"  
  
"The thing is gone," Kane told her.  
  
"Where's Tori?" Lita asked.  
  
Kane hung his head. "Tori…Tori told me to rescue Raven."  
  
Lita's eyes widened. "You have to go back in there! You have to save her!"  
  
"I can't. I'm not strong enough to part the flames again."  
  
Molly stood up. "Well, I'll try something. I'm water, right? Raven said something about me being water…I'll put the fire out!"  
  
"You can't," Steven informed her. "It takes years to master elemental power. It can't be triggered unless you're immersed in your element…"  
  
Molly shook her head. "Impossible! I can't watch her die!"  
  
Kane towered over her. "She has her reasons to wish for death…"  
  
Tori had figured that the fire would overtake her before the smoke would begin to choke her, but she'd been wrong. She lay on the floor, coughing and hacking and just wishing the flames would incinerate her to end the pain.  
  
The shadow before her took shape.  
  
"Tori…" it whispered. "Return to me…"  
  
"No…" Tori choked out, her throat dry.  
  
"I'll save you…" it continued. "And this time, you will be master instead of slave…"  
  
"NO!" Tori screamed as she passed out.  
  
Outside, the group watched the building burn, each hoping for something to change.  
  
That was when the shape of the flames began to morph. It took shape, a fiery bird in the night sky.  
  
And in the claws it was clutching the body of Tori Powers.  
  
It was three days later when Tori came to.  
  
She sat up in her hospital bed, shocked to be alive. "How the hell?" she asked.  
  
That's when she saw the other person in her room.  
  
"You?" she asked, shocked.  
  
The other body nodded. "I figured it'd come for you. If you'd have died it would've taken your body."  
  
Tori hung her head. "I deserve to die."  
  
"No, you don't. Nobody deserves to die. What you deserve is to live and make up for what you did wrong."  
  
"But…my…my punishment…"  
  
"Is that you will never channel again. I know, it's not exactly punishment. However, somehow the powers that be seem to think you'll be distraught."  
  
"Oh, I am, terribly," Tori added sarcastically. "And everyone else?"  
  
"Steven's visiting Ivory, who suddenly recovered last night. Molly and Spike are busy talking things out. That'll remain a friendship, nothing more. Lita's fending off Matt who's busy trying to apologize for what he did. She's not going to forgive him. Kinda sad actually. She'll need a new one."  
  
"A new one? Who?"  
  
"I don't know, someone who she'll actually trust," Chyna shook her head. "I'm still shocked I am."  
  
"I'm relieved. You saved me." Tori smiled. "And I guess since it was you…"  
  
"Yep. It's been ordained, by the powers that be," Chyna laughed. "You live." Then, "What's wrong?"  
  
"It's still out there," Tori furrowed her brows. "It's still ready, whenever it gets a chance. It won't just disappear like the others do. What are we going to do?"  
  
"The only thing we can do. Fight." 


End file.
